Aventador
by DragonDancer5150
Summary: The haze in the sky was just too thick, a dusty pall that had hung in the atmosphere since "that day" - the day it had all come crashing down. G1 cartoon continuity.
1. Prologue

Author's Note: "Aventador", according to what very little I could find on the internet, is apparently a colloquial term for "kicking ass," as well as the name of a famous, relentless bull that became a legend among bullfighters. It also, more reliably, is the name of Lamborghini's newest car. The kick-ass promotional video for the new Lambo is the inspiration for this fic. The video can be found here ( vimeo 22884674 - remove the spaces). The music, the cinematography, the special effects – this video really does kick ass! And it begs a story . . . so I'm writing one. Also . . . this is an AU set early in Season 1, before the creation of the Dinobots. Nothing against them or anyone from later times – I just needed to keep the cast list down. "Paid in Full" is taxing enough, heh.

Disclaimer – "Transformers" and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to Hasbro, Takara, and any other related owners/distributors/producers. I get no monetary benefit from this. My benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters.

"Aventador"  
>by DragonDancer5150<p>

Prologue

"It's starting! Hey, come on, guys! You're gonna miss it!"

Spike's excited cries over the intercom echoed throughout the base. Those not already with him or inescapably on duty hurried outside, either to the top of the volcano or out from under the Ark at the foot of the mount. Sideswipe was no exception.

The view was incredible. Streaks of light filled the late night sky as they fell to the earth somewhere southeast of the Ark. It reminded Sideswipe a little of the fluid that drizzled – or poured – onto this planet from on high occasionally, harmless drops of water as opposed to the acid that rained infrequently back on Cybertron.

Optimus Prime was the first to break the silence, his voice quiet. "It's beautiful."

"What is it that you call this again?" Unabashed awe colored Hound's tone.

Sideswipe heard Spike snicker, but the red Lamborghini-based warrior could hardly blame him. The Autobots were still new to this planet and its experiences. The ship's mainframe, Teletraan I, had done an admirable job of researching and learning what it could of the society most closely surrounding their ship, but that knowledge – especially the language patches everyone had received – still revealed holes as often as not.

The human teen gazed up at the Army green Jeep-based scout, amusement dancing in brown eyes. "It's called a meteor shower, Hound." Spike's brow furrowed in a mild frown of confusion. "You guys don't get meteors back on Cybertron?"

"Oh, we do." Hound looked as sheepish as he sounded. "I just didn't know what the English word for them was."

"Also called shootin' stars, aren't they?" Jazz asked with a grin. "Or is that somethin' else?"

Sideswipe laughed, teasing the Special Ops officer. "Trust you to know something like that." The Autobots' third-in-command made no secret of his fascination with all facets of human culture, language included.

At the same time, Spike's father Sparkplug chuckled. "Nope, you're right, Jazz. Any meteor or meteorite – especially a meteorite – that comes burning down through the atmosphere can qualify as a shooting star, or falling star, since it looks kind of like a star falling right out of the heavens."

"That's actually what people used to think they were," Spike put in.

"An' don't people make wishes on them or somethin'?" Jazz pressed.

Cliffjumper's face smacked into the palm of one hand. "You've been listening to those dizzy . . . whatever songs again, haven't you?"

"Disney," Jazz corrected by way of confirmation, his grin widening. "What, don't like upliftin' music, CJ?"

The red Minibot warrior just crossed his arms and stared back, his expression deadpan.

"So what would _you_ wish for, Optimus?" Spike asked.

The Autobot commander drew a deep cycle of air through his intakes, thinking about that.

"I know what I'd wish for," Sideswipe commented flippantly.

"No!" The collective response was unanimous and without hesitation.

_/Hey, sounds good to me!/_ Sideswipe's brother, Sunstreaker, chimed in over their spark-bond. The Lambo twins had been sentenced to clean up the chaos left by their latest prank on Wheeljack, which had left the frazzled engineer's workshop a mess. Sideswipe had finished nearly an hour ago, but Sunstreaker had spent too long complaining about what the cleaners might do to his polish, so he was stuck inside finishing his portion of the work. _/We were built for speed! What's wrong with wanting to let go and live a little once in a while?/_

_/Yeah, tell me about it./_

Prowl, the Autobots' primary strategist and second-in-command, spoke up then, frowning at Sideswipe with his arms folded. "The last thing we need, Sideswipe, is you – or your brother – getting any more speeding tickets. The humans have traffic laws for a reason, and while we're on their planet, we're bound to abide by them. For everyone's sakes."

Sideswipe thought, not for the first time, that it had been perfect how Teletraan I had reformatted the uptight, by-the-book SIC with an alt-mode of a human police cruiser.

By that point, the meteor shower was over, the moonless night dark once more save for the canopy of stars, the real ones that remained high above. Optimus Prime shifted to head back inside. "Come on, everyone."

No one argued. It was always the same story – get their recharge when they could, as they never knew when the Decepticons would attack next. Sideswipe trudged back into the base with the rest, staying up just long enough to greet his brother when Sunstreaker finally arrived back in the quarters they shared. Then he dropped into his berth, his recharge filled with dreams of unfettered racing down an open highway.


	2. Chp 1 Windswept

Disclaimer – "Transformers" and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to Hasbro, Takara, and any other related owners/distributors/producers. I get no monetary benefit from this. My benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters.

"Aventador"  
>by DragonDancer5150<p>

Chp 1 - Windswept

"Alert! Alert! Decepticon activity detected!"

Teletraan I's alarm blared over the intercom, startling Sideswipe from his recharge.

Across the room, he heard Sunstreaker fall out of his berth with a growled curse. The yellow Lambo warrior pulled himself to his feet. "Slagging 'Cons sure know how to ruin a guy's beauty rest. What the Pit you figure they're after at – " He paused to check his internal chronometer and grunted in irritation. " – oh-dark-nothing in the morning?"

"Frag if I know." Sideswipe climbed reluctantly off his berth. "Guess we better go find out."

By the time the twins joined the rest of the force in the command center, Optimus Prime had already organized who was going on the mission and who was staying behind. Windcharger and Huffer would guard the base and Bluestreak was on patrol duty with Sparkplug while Ratchet helped Wheeljack finish a project that the engineer had been working on since early yesterday. Sideswipe rolled out alongside his brother with the main force, headed for the Coyote Dry Lake Bed in the Mojave Desert. Prime briefed everyone on the go.

"A group of human scientists are under attack. They're at Coyote Lake studying the meteorites that fell last night – "

"And Mega-turkey's after them now?" Trailbreaker broke in. "What do you suppose he wants with a bunch of rocks?"

"We'll find out when we get there, Trailbreaker."

* * *

><p>Energy. Of course. Sideswipe would have rolled his optics had he been physically capable at the moment. As soon as the group left the highway and drew close over the flat hardpack of the lakebed, everyone's scanners started going on the fritz with the fields of energy emanating from the foreign fragments: electromagnetic and . . . something else. Not that Sideswipe bothered with what it could be. Let someone like Wheeljack worry about that. There was a fight to be had, and the entire Decepticon contingent was on hand. Plenty of targets to go around.<p>

Starscream was the first to spot the incoming group and screeched a warning. "It's the Autobots!"

Sideswipe snickered as his brother retorted, "You always sound so surprised to see us, Screamer. Is your memory as short as your attention span?"

The red Lambo started to add a taunt of his own but mentally stopped short at spotting the small bodies scattered on the ground around the camp at the Decepticons' feet.

"The humans! What did you do to them, Megatron?" Prime's angry voice thundered as the Autobots bore down on their enemies, transforming and breaking formation to move around the half-dozen unconscious scientists.

Megatron snarled as Prime plowed into him, knocking him back from what looked – and felt, to Sideswipe's sensors – like a crate of the energy-emitting meteorites. "For once, Prime, nothing. Do you think I _want_ the flesh creatures underfoot like this? Better for them to run screaming and get out of our way."

"Yeah! They _squish_ when ya step on 'em." Despite the complaint, Skywarp had a smirk on his faceplates.

"I'll show ya 'squish', you overgrown buzzard." Brawn jumped on him from behind, distracting him just long enough for Mirage to get a good shot on him.

Sideswipe didn't notice anything else of what was going on around him, focusing on one target. Thundercracker had transformed to head for the sky, and the red Lambo leaped onto his back, gripping the fighter jet's wings as the other climbed.

The Seeker bucked, barrel-rolling as he struggled for altitude. "Get off me, Autobot!"

"Haha, make me!" Sideswipe was laughing as he set his heels against the bases of the F-15's twin tail fins and threw his weight. He loved "jet judo".

"Augh! Let _go_!" The Seeker snarled as he fought to compensate.

Sideswipe continued to cling like rust to the fighter jet's back, timing the throws of his weight for when it would mess up Thundercracker's shots on his teammates. He heard Starscream shriek in fury and glanced over to see his twin similarly clung to the trine leader's wings. He loosened a hand just enough to give Sunstreaker a quick thumbs-up. Unfortunately, he'd let his attention focus just a little too much on his brother. He missed Laserbeak's approach until the Cassetticon condor shot him. Laser fire splashed an acidic burn across his flank. Startled and in pain, his grip loosened further, and Thundercracker took the advantage to throw him off. He hit the ground hard, barely missing one of the scientists even as Spike had been darting in to drag the man to safety.

The Lambo shifted to his knees, but suddenly his sensors all freaked out at once, everything swelling with painful static. He curled in agony, biting back whimpers while feedback shrieked in his audios. _What the _frag_ is this? Decepticons come up with some new weapon?_ Glancing around through a haze of static snow, he saw that he wasn't the only one. It was as if someone had cranked a voltage switch, ramping up the ambient energies in the entire area. Everyone – Autobots and Decepticons alike – had dropped from the sudden pain just as he had. Spike had fallen unconscious over the scientist he'd been dragging, blood trickling from his nose. Only Laserbeak and the Seekers, and Sunstreaker still riding Starscream's back, seemed to be unaffected.

"F-fraggit!" Rumble complained, voice stressed with pain. He lay curled up in a tiny ball about six meters to Sideswipe's right. "Not a-again!"

"It's worse this time!" chorused the triplicate Reflector mechs Viewfinder, Spyglass, and Spectro.

"What d-do you mean . . . 'not ag-gain'?" Mirage demanded.

Megatron roared and struggled out from under Prime, where the two had collapsed against each other from the apparent attack. "_What in the Pit __**is**__ this_?"

"The . . . the meteorites!" Prowl cried, trembling as he fought to stand. "I-it has to be!"

Soundwave's voice evinced stress even through his usual booming monotone. "CONFIRMED. METEORITE ENERGY: INTENSIFIED."

Ironhide climbed back to his feet with effort. "If we . . . augh! I-If we move away from the . . . the meteorites, m-maybe Trailbreaker's forcefield-"

The energy dropped back off without warning, but fresh cries of shock and denial sounded from the entire company as a gale-force wind instantly replaced it, sweeping across the open expanse of the lakebed. Several of the Autobots scrambled to catch the humans before their bodies were picked up and scattered. Laserbeak squawked in startled protest as she was thrown to the ground, swept back up . . . and slammed again.

Sideswipe got his feet under him carefully, crouching low but to no avail. He felt almost as if the currents were wrapping around him with intention, aiming to throw him into the Reflector triplets as it knocked him back off his feet. Instead of being blown in same direction, away from him, he felt the Minibot-sized mechs shoved into him by the wind as he fell. As one, the Decepticon trio clamped onto his limbs in an effort not to be picked up and thrown again by the attacking gale.

"You idiots!" Sideswipe growled at them, having to yell to be heard. "Transform! You're a smaller target that way!"

"We're also lighter!" they cried in that perfect unison for which the one-in-three mechs were known. "We'll be blown away for sure!"

Sideswipe couldn't deny the logic in that. He felt the wind clawing at them, not just blowing over them but as if actively trying to pull the four apart. He heard Cliffjumper, Rumble, and Gears yelp and snarl curses as the wind lifted them high. He looked just in time to see them thrown them off in all directions. The Reflector triplets clung all the harder to the Lambo, on the edge of panic. _Afraid of being separated_. He could relate, being a twin himself, and Viewfinder, Spyglass, and Spectro were even more closely bound than he and Sunstreaker were. "Far be it from me to help a Decepticon," he muttered in an undertone, then curled up further, pulling his limbs – and the triplet mechs – as close as possible. "Transform. I'll hold onto you."

The three looked at him, incredulous and distrustful, then exchanged glances. Sideswipe could imagine the quick conversation across their sparkbonds. Viewfinder looked back at him and nodded reluctantly, then led his brothers to transform. Powerful magnetic fields not only helped align the trio as they shifted and fitted to one another but helped keep them from being separated as they were forced to let go of Sideswipe. Added bonus was that Sideswipe himself was close enough to be caught by the field, keeping the three by him as they mass-shifted down to the size of a Cybertronian-proportioned camera with their transformation. The Lambo warrior grabbed the camera just as their magnetic field cut out.

The wind slammed Bumblebee into him just then, nearly knocking Reflector from his grip. The little espionage scout was curled up as best he could be around a beaten and still-unconscious Spike, trying to protect the human. The Minibot himself looked like he'd been tossed around a few times. Sideswipe threw an arm around him, hugging the little scout to his side as he straightened to lay as flat to the ground as possible. He hoped to keep the wind from slipping underneath him and managing to pick him up.

Bumblebee shifted and pressed closer, overbright optics finding his. "This is insane! The way the wind currents are moving – it shouldn't be _possible_, Sideswipe!"

"There must be something controlling it!"

"L-like what?" Bumblebee squawked.

"I don't know!" cried the Lambo. He turned a little, keeping the Minibot snugged against him as he tried to look for his brother, noting in dismay that _nobody_ was anywhere close to the positions he'd seen them in only a moment ago, the whole company having been scrambled around by the windstorm. The only traces of the human scientists' camp were broken bits of debris flying all around the flat expanse. He could literally watch the movement of the currents by following the swirls of dust and sand in the air, vicious particles that scoured painfully at his armor and ground into his joints. The fact that his vain twin _wasn't_ complaining about the damage to his finish, even just over their bond, was as troubling as anything.

Above them, the wind was apparently trying to force the buffeted, airborne Seekers into one another. Sunstreaker must have been knocked off Starscream's back . . . or got smart and jumped off. Sideswipe could just hear the Air Commander over the wind, shrieking at his trinemates to get to ground before they crashed. A particularly violent whorl of air and sand caught Thundercracker just then, spinning him thrusters over nosecone on a skewed axis towards Starscream, and another seemed to punt Skywarp directly into the path from an almost perfectly perpendicular position. _Definitely something sentient going on here_, the Lambo thought. Any other time, he'd have enjoyed the sight of the Seekers having such problems staying aloft and in control, but right now all he could feel was dread. He watched Skywarp avoid the collision by teleporting, barely missing Thundercracker plow through him. Starscream wasn't so lucky. The Air Commander cut his thrusters and bucked midair, apparently trying to use the currents to his advantage to force himself under his trinemate, but it was too little too late. The spinning blue Seeker smacked him hard across the top of the fuselage. Sideswipe winced at the sight of Starscream's canopy shattering under the force of Thundercracker's wingtip, which itself buckled with the impact and caught on something. Both Seekers snarled in agony as they spiraled groundward, Thundercracker's wing ripping free again only seconds before impact.

"Autobots!" Optimus Prime's voice thundered through the windstorm. Sideswipe turned from the sight of the Seekers picking each other up to find his leader through the dusty haze. Optimus and Megatron were clinging to one another for stability, and they had managed to struggle over to Optimus's Combat Deck, which looked like it'd been picked up and slammed a few times. The Lambo hoped the trailer, and Roller inside, were okay. If they were damaged enough to be painful to Optimus – being functionally a part of him – the Prime didn't show it. His voice, however, hinted. "Autobots, gather up!"

"Decepticons!" The strain in Megatron's voice was more pronounced, and he favored a leg as he leaned on Optimus. "Ceasefire! Close ranks with the Autobots."

"If we're close, we present a greater mass and the wind can't pick us off as easily!" Optimus clarified.

Both factions were already battered enough that no one objected, not inasmuch as Sideswipe could hear anyway. With Reflector still clutched in one hand, the Lambo helped Bumblebee to his feet, crouching low over the Minibot as the two fought their way over toward their leader. Thundercracker, both wings mangled and useless, supported Starscream who was hunched over an exposed spark chamber behind his torn cockpit as they caught up. Sideswipe only gave it an astro-second's thought before half-growling and shifting a step over in spite of himself to get a shoulder under Starscream's other arm. The Decepticon Air Commander gave him a dull look but didn't say anything, his inner cooling fans running too loudly and in ragged cycles. Sideswipe wondered briefly if he was in shock. The foursome then reached Prowl, Jazz, and Brawn. Prowl had the crumpled and unmoving form of Laserbeak in his arms. Thundercracker reached for the nearest – Jazz – and the Special Ops officer only nodded and wrapped an arm back around the taller mech, careful of his wounded wings. The two clusters melded into one.


	3. Chp 2 Bonds

Disclaimer – "Transformers" and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to Hasbro, Takara, and any other related owners/distributors/producers. I get no monetary benefit from this. My benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters.

"Aventador"  
>by DragonDancer5150<p>

Chp 2 - Bonds

Sunstreaker, Ironhide, Trailbreaker, and Hound had already gathered around Optimus and Megatron, each carrying a scientist or two in his arms, as Sideswipe's group reached them. A few astro-seconds later, Soundwave joined from the opposite direction. The Decepticon communications officer had Ravage carefully tucked under one arm, two of the Cassetticon jaguar's legs having been broken. Soundwave's other hand was pressed against Gears' back, the Minibot clinging to his leg to keep from being blown away.

The group shuffled around to get the smaller mechs toward the center, the larger ones huddling with arms around shoulders and waists as the windstorm only seemed to get angrier and redouble its efforts to tear the gathering apart. With Optimus's Combat Deck at their backs, the two faction leaders had crouched down on a knee each to make themselves smaller, more compact targets. The Autobot Prime cast his optics over the gathering. Dust and debris in the air was starting to make it increasingly harder to see. "Who's missing?"

The mechs looked around, taking stock. Brawn spoke up first with a growl of worry. "Where's Cliffjumper?"

"RUMBLE**.**" Soundwave's forceful monotone was as flat on the surface as ever, but Sideswipe swore he could hear a note of something akin to grief buried underneath.

"Mirage?" asked Prowl.

"Invisible?" Hound suggested with a shrug, though he didn't look as hopeful as his tone sounded.

Prowl shook his head. "Not for this, he wouldn't be."

Ironhide snorted. "Even if he was, there's so much slag in the air, there'd be a Mirage-shaped _hole_ where he was standin'."

"Exactly. What about Reflector?"

Sideswipe held up the camera where Prowl could see. "Here."

"'Warp." Thundercracker's voice was as flat as Soundwave's, so much so that it drew everyone's attention with a start.

Megatron studied him, then turned to Starscream. "Your trinebond…?"

The Air Commander's optics were scarily hollow as he shook his head, his voice low enough to make it sound almost normal. The others had to strain to hear him over the wailing wind beating at their audios. "He . . . teleported . . . " Starscream glanced at Thundercracker. " . . . and we . . . we lost him."

Thundercracker looked like he was going to purge, voice thin with shock. "He hasn't reappeared. We . . . we can't sense him at all."

In spite of how he normally hated the aerial warriors – well, any Decepticons, really – Sideswipe felt almost sorry for the pair. Among Seekers, one's trinemates and the bond they shared were just about equivalent to the bond between sparktwins. The red Lambo looked up in time for his twin to catch his optic. For just a split second, Sideswipe could see uncertainty and fear betrayed on Sunstreaker's faceplates. _/I'm _not_ gonna lose you, bro,/_ Sideswipe assured him, though it was really as much for his own sake as his brother's.

_/Couldn't if you tried, moron./_ The yellow Lambo smirked, a fond look on his face, but Sideswipe could still sense the reactions in his brother's spark . . . and the gratefulness that they _were_ still together.

"Is that everyone?" Optimus sounded stricken by the losses. He straightened and looked at Megatron, presumably to see if the Decepticon leader would agree. "We should fall back. Regroup, take stock, find a vantage point to try to do some recon from. Our forces need a chance to recover."

Megatron glared at him for a long moment, then swept his gaze over the company and scowled, nodding. "We cannot fight an unknown enemy." He fixed his glare back on the Autobot commander. "I fully intend to find out who's behind this – " He waved a hand in an angry '_whatever this is_' gesture in the air behind him, outside of the circle. Sideswipe watched the dust and sand swirl around the Decepticon leader's arm and between his spread fingers. " – and make them pay. I _hope_ you won't interfere, Optimus Prime."

Optimus's optics darkened with anger and resolve. "This assault will not go unanswered, Megatron. You have my word."

"But Prime," Gears protested, "we can't just leave CJ and Mirage!"

"I'm afraid we don't have much choice, Gears. Until we understand what we're up against, there's not much we can do for Cliffjumper, Mirage, Rumble and Skywarp."

"We retreat for now," Megatron agreed, "and come back when we're more prepared."

"NO!" Starscream's shrill screech was suddenly back full force, his optics bright. "Not this time, Megatron! We will _not_ retreat!"

Megatron's optics narrowed, his expression stormy. "Starscream-!"

"HEY!" Bumblebee's startled yelp interrupted the brewing threat – the Seeker had grabbed him. Jazz gasped and snatched Spike from the Minibot's arms to protect him, unable to safely grab the Minibot himself with the human in the way.

"You," snapped the Air Commander, ignoring Megatron. "You're supposed to have the sharpest sight of anyone. Look for that idiot Skywarp." He hoisted Bumblebee to his shoulder, bracing him in front of a shoulder vent.

"Starscream-" Optimus started but was interrupted by Megatron's snarl.

"STARSCREAM, PUT THE MINIBOT DOWN!"

"When did _you_ care about anyone but yourself?"

Starscream gave Trailbreaker a murderous glare. "Silence, Autobot! You know nothing about this!" He spun around, turning to face out from the group.

The Seeker had Bumblebee clamped around the hips to help hold him in place, and the Minibot flailed for a moment trying to balance. One arm wrapped around the Seeker's helm for support. Sideswipe had been too surprised to react fast enough to stop Starscream and watched closely now to make sure he didn't harm the little scout. Bumblebee, for his part, seemed to shrug and just accept his role, huddling against the Seeker's helm and bracing back against the air vent. The wind buffeted him with a vengeance. Thundercracker helped support his trinemate, and Sideswipe stood ready to help brace Bumblebee if needed.

Bumblebee's gaze darted over the area all around them, his visual scan widening more and more as he straightened, helm tilting up to look farther and farther out. Suddenly, he bucked back against the Seeker's vent, his optics flaring in alarm. "Whoa! Incoming! We need to move! Now!"

"What?" "What is it?" The cries came from all around.

Bumblebee pointed east of their position. "Wall of clouds rolling along the ground. Dark . . . like they're really dirty. Primus, it must be a thousand feet high! And as wide as I can see."

It was Hound's turn for alarm, dread on his features as his optics brightened. "Sandstorm! Prime, Bee's right! We need to get to shelter."

"SANDSTORM," Soundwave intoned as he looked at Megatron, "EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. AGREEMENT WITH AUTOBOTS: ASSURED. SHELTER: NECESSARY."

"_Sand_ storm?" Reflector's incredulous, triplicate voice sounded from the camera in Sideswipe's hand. "First an air storm, now a sand storm? What is _with_ this crazy planet?"

Hound shook his head. "This isn't natural. None of this is! Something really bizarre's going on!"

"GUYS!" Bumblebee cut in, an edge of panic to his voice. He squirmed against Starscream to be put down. "Hello! I'm serious - time to go! I really don't wanna be caught by that wall. Especially if it's related to this wind!"

"Bumblebee's right." Optimus Prime stood up, hunching against the air currents. "Autobots, transform and roll out!" He looked to Megatron. "You and yours primarily fly. Obviously, that's a bad idea right now."

"As much as I hate to agree with you, Optimus Prime…" Megatron let his voice trail off in suppressed frustration, then turned to his mechs. "Decepticons, you heard him. Stay low. Move!" He mass-shifted and transformed into his gun mode as Optimus folded into his Freightliner cab-over alt. Lifting on anti-grav and practically gluing himself to Optimus's door to keep from being blown away, Megatron knocked hard on the window with his barrel until Optimus rolled it down enough to let him in.

The Autobots remained in close ranks as half of them transformed, the other half still occupied with wounded. Spike and the scientists were quickly but carefully piled into Trailbreaker's canopied truck bed, while Ironhide took Ravage. Damaged as she was, the jaguar couldn't transform. "You tear up my upholstery, cat," the red van warned as Soundwave helped her in, "an' I'm kickin' ya back out." Ravage growled but laid her head down and was still.

Jazz was parked next to Ironhide, and he rolled back a bit as Soundwave straightened from checking on his Cassette. He lowered a window. "Need a lift?" Soundwave looked at him for a moment, glanced at Prowl who had his remaining Cassetticon, then mass-shifted and transformed, the Walkman tape deck levitating on anti-grav to maneuver in through Jazz's window.

Sideswipe darted over before Jazz could roll his window back up. "Hey, catch!" He tossed Reflector in to land on the seat next to the Walkman.

"What am I, chauffeur now?" the TIC mock-complained.

"Prime, Ironhide, Trailbreaker." Prowl's voice was tight as he loaded the unconscious Laserbeak in next to Ravage and closed the red van's hatch door. "Get moving! You're slower and heavier than the rest of us. If you stay close, the wind shouldn't be able to knock you over or pick you up. We'll catch up." He transformed as he finished.

Sunstreaker had already transformed and his engine revved anxiously. "One problem with that!"

"What's that?"

"Two words for you, Prowl: 'high' and 'profile'."

The police cruiser didn't answer, but the way his engine gave a faint sputter was enough to know he'd gotten the yellow Lambo's meaning.

"We'll make due," Optimus assured them. By habit, he had hitched himself to his battered trailer, but Sideswipe heard the brake lines hiss in protest as the connections disengaged once more. The red Lambo thought that must have been a hard decision – the Combat Deck as well as little Roller inside were tied to the Autobot Prime. Yet another kind of sparkbond. "Ironhide, Trailbreaker, we drive wheel well to wheel well as close as possible." The three shuffled and took off.

By this point, Sideswipe and the others could see the coming wall themselves, even through the scouring haze in the air. Prowl directed arranging the rest of the Autobots, putting himself, Jazz, Hound, Sunstreaker, and Sideswipe in a tight circle around Brawn, Bumblebee, and Gears. "Are you two coming?" the SIC asked of the two remaining Decepticons.

Starscream and Thundercracker had huddled in a crouch, clinging to one another to keep from being picked up while all the ground vehicles transformed and organized. The Seekers exchanged glances, nodded, and darted at the circle.

"H-hey!" Sideswipe protested as Thundercracker threw himself over the Lambo's roof, fingers finding the bottom edge of his front bumper and hooking under.

"Fair's fair, Autobot. Move!"

"What the- Get off me!" Sunstreaker's engine growled, accentuating the protest as Starscream mimicked his trinemate.

"The humans have a saying, Autobot," the Air Commander sneered. "Payback's a glitch."

"That's 'bitch,' stupid! And you're going to ruin my paintjob!"

"Oh, as if all this sand hasn't already," the Seeker retorted.

"Enough!" snapped Prowl. "All of you, just deal."

Brawn agreed. "Your engines should be powerful enough to handle the added load. You're both Lamborghinis, for Pit's sake!"

"No mech left behind – isn't that the Autobots' way?"

Sideswipe would have slapped the smugness off of Starscream's face if he could, and he felt the hot resentment through the bond from his twin. Then, they were moving, the wall beginning to bear down on them in earnest.

The wind had died some, but it picked up with a vengeance just as Prowl's group moved to catch up with Prime's three. Everyone opened comms just to be heard over the wailing windstorm as the vehicles huddled even closer, bumpers and side mirrors rubbing. Over Optimus's comm, Sideswipe heard Megatron growl. "Can't you go any faster, Prime? That infernal dust wall is catching up!"

Optimus started to respond, but it degraded instantly into a cry of surprise and denial as a particularly violent whorl of wind and sand broadsided him, scraping over Ironhide's roof to slam against the top of his driver-side door. Optimus's axle width wasn't long enough to withstand that hard of a strike that high to his cab, and he was thrown off his tires into Trailbreaker. The Ford camper truck couldn't take the sudden weight of the Freightliner and swerved out of control, inadvertently dumping Optimus on his passenger side as he fought to compensate. The whorl caught Optimus's fifth-wheel frame and spun him across the ground back into Ironhide.

Too close behind to compensate otherwise, the rest of the Autobots were forced to break ranks around the trucks to keep from plowing through them. The Minibots, trapped in the center, transformed to root-mode so they could attempt to vault over, hitting the ground back in alt as they came down in front of their larger brethren.

The howling wind rose in pitch; Sideswipe could almost swear it sounded like mocking triumph. With the wind whirling and the sand flying around him, it was getting harder and harder for the red Lambo to keep track of his companions even with sensors. Sand bit at his paintjob, worked its way between seams, and filled his tailpipes. He felt Thundercracker tighten his grip on the bumper and brace his feet against his spoiler. He couldn't bring himself to protest, following via scanners with a sick feeling in the pit of his manifold as Bumblebee and Gears were picked up, both crying out in protest and fear, and flipped over his and Thundercracker's backs. The Seeker ducked his helm against the Lambo's hood as the Minibots bounced off him. Sideswipe thought he felt the Seeker shaking a little but dismissed it as the effort the other was exerting to hang on. Then he felt the other buck as if in alarm, the sensation followed instantly by a shot of reaction through his sparkbond and twin yelps of fear and anger from his right. The wind had caught under Starscream's wings, sending him and Sunstreaker airborne.

"Leggo, you glitch!" Sunstreaker's voice over the comms was a snarl of irritation, but Sideswipe felt the near-panic behind it.

Starscream's shriek of fury sounded over Sunstreaker's comm. "Cowardly, scum-sucking _glitch_! Hiding behind your precious sand! YOU WANT ME? _COME AND GET ME!_"

"NO!" Thundercracker nearly lost his grip, reacting as his trine leader released his hold on the yellow Lambo, transformed, and swung around in the air currents to head straight for the oncoming sandstorm, rifles perforating the particulate wall. "Stars! Get your afterburners _back here now!_"

"Hang on, Thundercracker, unless you wanna follow him!" Sideswipe warned just before swerving to avoid his plummeting brother. The Seeker yelped in alarm and tucked flat against the Lambo's roof and hood again.

Beside them, Sunstreaker landed at an angle, back tires and bumper hitting the ground hard before his front end dropped. The landing crushed the bumper, and Sideswipe felt hot pain through the sparkbond from a cracked rear axle. Snarling, the yellow Lambo spun his tires on the sand-slicked hardpack until they found traction again.

The ominous wall itself finally rolled over them, engulfing everyone. Optimus Prime's voice sounded over the comms, thick with pain. "A-autobots! Those who…still can…_go_! If you can…outrun t-the…sandstorm and make it to…the foothills…groundcover w-will break up…the wind's assault."

"But Prime-!" Whatever Hound had been about to say, the rest drowned in a cry of pain and protest, replaced by static.

_No, no, no, no, no! This isn't happening!_

_/'Fraid it is, bro! C'mon!/_

Sunstreaker wasn't really any less freaked than Sideswipe was, but the red Lambo appreciated the other's attempt to hold it together for his twin's sake. Sideswipe nodded mentally. _/We get back to the highway, and we'll have the traction we need to make it!/_

_/Just what I was thinking./_

Sideswipe only half-listened as his brother relayed the message through the comms, his concentration locked up with fighting to keep his tires on the ground against the wind dragging at Thundercracker. His saving grace was his build – he was sleek with a very low profile. Of everyone out here, only his twin and Jazz shared those advantages, the Special Ops officer's alt being that of a Porsche racecar.

The dust and sand in the air were so thick now that Sideswipe had to rely entirely on his short-range sensors to guide him. He had to tune out the rapidly-dwindling chatter on the comms as he flew for the highway, and his spark pulsed with relief when his tires finally hit sand-strewn asphalt. Sending up silent prayers for his fellow Autobots, the Lamborghini opened throttle and raced for the foothills without looking back.


	4. Chp 3 Loss

Author's Note – Thanks as always to MyAibou for the beta work and to Lunnaei for being my first ear. What would I do without you guys? 8D

Disclaimer – "Transformers" and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to Hasbro, Takara, and any other related owners/distributors/producers. I get no monetary benefit from this. My benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters.

"Aventador"  
>by DragonDancer5150<p>

Chp 3 - Loss

Sand-choked engine protesting all the way, Sideswipe didn't slow his mad dash when he and Thundercracker left the flat floor of the lakebed. The red Lamborghini did his best to follow the road snaking between ever larger and more frequent boulders and denser flora, blinded to all but a few very short-range sensors as the maelstrom clawed at them both. More than once, the red Lambo turned too sharply or not enough, running off the road onto the broken, rock-strewn shoulder. Thundercracker clung for his life, helm tucked down between his arms. He gave a pained grunt as they drove over a particularly well-littered bend, the canopy of his chest bouncing against Sideswipe's roof, but he didn't complain, to the red Lambo's mild surprise.

Finally, the clouds of wind and sand thinned and gave way against the ragged landscape of the foothills just south of the Amargosa and Panamint Ranges. Sideswipe stretched his scanners back out and pinged his brother as well as Jazz, who was now carrying Ravage on his roof. He couldn't locate anyone else.

Jazz pinged him back, voice heavy as he spoke over the comms. "Sides, Sunny, we head straight back for base. I'm contactin' Ratchet now ta let him an' Wheeljack know we've got wounded."

"What about the others?" Sunstreaker's voice was taut with worry.

"And how the frag'd you wind up with Decepti-kitty?" Sideswipe would have snickered at the growl he got from the clinging jaguar if he weren't already confused and deeply worried. What had happened to Ironhide?

Jazz's tone was grim, a jarring shift from the usual cheerfulness in his scat-man-blues drawl. "Ironhide was picked up, an' he couldn't hold on when Ravage an' Laserbeak were slammed into his rear hatch. They fell out, an' I grabbed the one I could." Meaning, Sideswipe guessed, the one who was conscious and could grab and hold onto _him_. The Lambo could see where Ravage's claws had dug into Jazz's seams for purchase. "As for the others, we'll go back for recon once we're repaired."

"You won't find anyone," Thundercracker murmured into Sideswipe's hood.

"You don't know that, flyboy!" Sunstreaker retorted. Sideswipe could feel his twin's fear for their friends, a fear he wholly shared.

The Seeker lifted his head to pin a glare on the yellow Lambo. "Yes, I do, groundpounder!"

Soundwave's voice over Jazz's comm cut off any retort Sunstreaker had. "THUNDERCRACKER: CORRECT. RUMBLE AND LASERBEAK: UNREACHABLE."

"And if I can't contact Skywarp or Starscream, I doubt you'll find your people either."

"Not alive, anyway," Reflector mumbled, the forlorn tone echoed in triplicate.

Thundercracker snarled. "_Don't say that!_"

"Mechs, mechs!" Jazz cut in. "One thing at a time! We get back ta base, we get fixed up, we go out for recon as soon as we can. Even _if_ everyone was offlined – an' that's an '_if'_, people – we'll recover their bodies an' hopefully figure out just what the frag we're up against, ya dig?"

There was a moment of silence, then Thundercracker shifted to look in Jazz's window. "Soundwave?"

The Decepticon communications officer and second-in-command – now functionally _first_-in-command, Sideswipe supposed – hesitated an instant before replying, and Sideswipe couldn't tell if it was from grief over his lost Cassettes or distaste at working with his enemies. "AGREED."

Sideswipe felt the tension in the air ease at least a bit.

* * *

><p>The <em>Ark<em>'s forcefields dropped as the Porsche and two Lamborghinis raced up the access road to the foot of the volcano the Autobots called home. Sideswipe thought that was unusual, in that the shields were never _up_ unless there was an active threat. He didn't sense one. It only made him all the more nervous after everything else that had just transpired.

He spotted Bluestreak and Windcharger waiting for them in the entrance cavern under the belly of the buried _Ark_, even as he sensed the shields go right back up behind them. _What happened here?_

Before he could voice his question, Bluestreak started in on them, the gunner's manic chatter even more rapidfire than usual. "Are you guys okay? You look terrible! And what are _they_ doing here? Primus, you all look like you've been through a grinder! Where is everyone else? Have you heard yet about what happened to all the humans in-"

"Will you _shut up_?" Thundercracker snapped, growling as he shifted to climb off Sideswipe's roof.

Bluestreak's megamile-a-minute word tumble normally grated on Sideswipe's audios too, but he could hear the very real nervousness in the other's voice right now. Any other time, he'd defend a fellow Autobot against the sharp word of a Decepticon, but this time he couldn't bring himself to, finding he couldn't fault the Seeker. He watched and felt the injured jet move slowly and with obvious effort. Thundercracker's face was an unreadable mask, but Sideswipe could guess well enough the pain he must have been in. The Lambo knew he'd be short on patience himself in that state.

Sunstreaker had transformed to root mode beside them, and he wasn't in as forgiving a mood as his twin, turning on the Seeker. "_You_ shut it, 'Con! You shouldn't even _be_ here. The least you can do is-"

"Mechs!" Jazz had had to wait for Soundwave and Reflector to float themselves out of his cabin and for Soundwave to help Ravage off his roof. He transformed as quickly as he could to shift over and step between them, fixing the yellow Lambo warrior with a rare look of authority. It reminded Sideswipe why the jovial Special Ops officer was third-in-command of the whole Autobot forces. "Yes, Sunstreaker, he _should_ be here. They need our help right now just as like we need theirs if we're gonna get our friends back from whatever is behind that windstorm." He paused to cast a quick, warning glare from behind his visor at Thundercracker and Soundwave. "Just don't make me regret that decision, dig?"

Soundwave stared back impassively, but Thundercracker gave an almost imperceptible nod. Satisfied, Jazz moved to Bluestreak, who stood wringing his hands like a distressed sparkling, doorwings hitched high behind his shoulders. Throwing an arm around the younger mech, he steered Bluestreak – and by extension, everyone – toward the tunnel that led up into the ship. "C'mon, guys. Let's get to the Med-bay. We can debrief each other there."

"Ratchet and Wheeljack are already waiting for you guys. I'll let them know you're here." Ever an impulsive one, Windcharger didn't wait for confirmation before he transformed and took off ahead of them.

Thundercracker grimaced as the rest of the group followed on foot. "I'll take your medic, but you can keep your mad engineer. I don't care to leave in _more_ pieces than I've come in."

Ravage, riding once more in Soundwave's arms, rumbled her agreement deep in her chest, the jaguar's audio pinnae laid flat to her head, her optics narrowed.

Sunstreaker smirked. "Don't let Ratchet hear you talking like that about his best friend, or you might just leave reformatted as a flying toaster."

The Reflector trio had tucked themselves behind Soundwave as the mixed group passed through the empty corridors of the _Ark_, but triplicate grins crossed their faces at that, smug as if they knew something they shouldn't. "It's a wonder he hasn't done that to _you_!"

Viewfinder, Spectro, and Spyglass served their faction as recon and espionage scouts – much as Bumblebee did for the Autobots – so Sideswipe couldn't have said that it surprised him they knew about the trouble he and his brother often got into with the snarky medic. He laughed with a shrug. "We're just smarter than that, is all."

They reached the Med-bay just then, and Jazz ushered everyone inside. Windcharger was there talking to Ratchet by one of the nearer repair berths, where also the Autobots' human friend, Sparkplug, stood on the berth itself to participate more easily in the conversation. Across from them, Wheeljack looked up from a table and winced at the sight of the incoming group – whether in sympathy for the myriad of injuries or the fact that Decepticons were so close, Sideswipe couldn't tell. The usually easy-going and compassionate engineer always seemed to get twitchy when members of the other faction got within less than shouting distance. Sideswipe thought he remembered being told that Wheeljack had been captured once and survived being held hostage for an amazingly long time, back before he and his brother had joined the war. He wondered if the other's reaction now had anything to do with that.

Ratchet just swept a practiced glance over everyone, presumably triaging his patients. "Washracks first, decon stat. Now." He pointed at the short hall that led off to one side. No one argued, especially once they got to the room and saw that the system was already programmed into Decontamination Mode in preparation for them. The Autobots' chief medical officer took no possible threats to his patients lightly, especially when it came to such a powerful and unknown foe.

The Med-bay washracks were technically one big rack, a single room with spray nozzles all around the walls and ceiling and even the floor to accommodate several mechs at once if needed. Spike had once likened it to the showers in a boys' locker room.

Ratchet poked his head around the corner as the group, Autobots and Decepticons alike, shuffled in and sank gratefully into the scouring jets of water and cleaners. "Make sure to get every grain of that Pit-possessed sand out of your systems. Help each other if you have to . . . and no fighting in my washracks! Thundercracker, I want to see you first. And Ravage. And Sunstreaker, don't think I didn't catch that limp."

Sideswipe suppressed a snicker. His brother's pain from that last fall had been throbbing across their sparkbond, but Sunstreaker was a proud, vain, and stubborn mech even with friends, let alone enemies. He'd been fighting to hide any weakness in front of the Decepticons. _Heh, trust Ratchet to notice anyway_. Though, honestly, if he hadn't and Sunstreaker had tried to not say anything, Sideswipe would have. In private.

Nine mechs washed and decontaminated themselves and each other in silence. The weight and horror of what had happened were finally starting to settle in earnest on Sideswipe's shoulders, robbing him of any relief he might have enjoyed at rinsing the grit from his joints. He could only guess the others were feeling it too. Optimus Prime, their ever-present and seemingly undefeatable commander . . . gone. Prowl, Ironhide, jovial Trailbreaker, uptight Mirage, Gears, Hound, Cliffjumper, gutsy little Bumblebee, staunch Brawn . . . mechs he respected, admired, teased, played pranks on, laughed with and fought alongside, all of them suddenly gone.

Even the mighty Megatron, annoying Starscream . . . the red Lambo stole a glance over at Thundercracker. The powerful Seeker's faceplates were as unreadable as before, gaze pinned on the spray nozzle in front of him, but Sideswipe thought he could read it in his dimmed optics and the hitch of his mangled wings. He'd lost his trine. For a Seeker, trine was everything, even if he didn't get along with his trinemates. Sideswipe didn't know where Thundercracker stood with Skywarp, but he couldn't imagine _anyone_ getting along with Starscream. Still . . . the loss of the loud and arrogant Air Commander as well as the teleporter had to be weighing heavily on the remaining Seeker.

And Soundwave. The tall communications specialist was a mech of few words and a formidable presence on a _good_ day. He was also a symbiotic host, a rare kind of mech who formed natural bonds with up to five symbionts. The single other mech like him that Sideswipe had ever heard of was Blaster, one of the countless Autobots who'd been left behind on Cybertron when the _Ark_ took off on its original mission. A host shared portions of his spark with his symbionts, so the loss of even one was a deep wound from what Sideswipe understood. Soundwave had just lost two. The Decepticon was crouched on a knee cleaning his remaining Cassette with a gentle care the Lambo would never have guessed from him. Ravage whimpered softly, rubbing her head against his arm, trying to comfort. There was a sense of grief to both of them, and Sideswipe found himself actually feeling sorry for the pair.

Behind Soundwave, the Minibot-sized Reflector triplets had been furtively keeping their bigger and stronger brethren between them and the Autobots. Frankly, Sideswipe couldn't blame them. As a primarily defensive entity, they weren't combat mechs and tended to stay out of battles between the factions unless ordered otherwise. Sideswipe had seen one or more of them nearly deactivated by shots that would have caused moderate but survivable wounds on another mech. Here, now, in the middle of what they surely saw as enemy territory, they looked small and scared to the Lambo warrior. That normally would have given him a sense of smug satisfaction, but now he couldn't feel anything but sympathy.

_Slag, this is_ so _messed up!_

_/Tell me about it./_ Beside him, Sunstreaker paused from grimacing at the sand-scour scratches on his arms to put a hand on his twin's shoulder. _/We're gonna get to the bottom of this, though, bro. A dozen-odd mechs don't just cease to exist. And just because we can't scan them or comm them doesn't mean they're dead. They're out there somewhere, and we're gonna find them. Frag, even the other 'Cons./_ He scowled, glancing at the ones in the washracks with them, but his words were sincere. _/I don't like it, but . . . Jazz's right. I guess. So long as they're willing to work with us too, without shooting us in the backs. Besides, they may be sludge-spewing pipe-suckers, but they're_ our _sludge-spewing pipe-suckers. Whatever that was out there does _not_ get to frag with_ our _business!/_

Sideswipe studied the yellow Lamborghini warrior for an instant, admittedly a little surprised at the other's stance. His twin hated the Decepticons even more than he did. Still, under the vanity and the vicious abandon in combat, Sunstreaker was a good spark who did the right thing whether he liked it or not. No one knew that better than Sideswipe. He nodded and covered his twin's hand with his own. _/Got that right./_

Jazz had been watching them, probably guessing that the two were talking and waiting until they were done. As Sideswipe let go of his brother's hand and turned to shut off his bank of nozzles, the Special Ops officer gestured. "C'mon. Let's not keep the good doc waitin' any longer."

* * *

><p>x<p>

* * *

><p>AN: Since I'm taking this from as early in Season 1 as I am, Blaster obviously hasn't joined the "active" roster yet, so I'm kind of assuming he's still back on Cybertron somewhere in an underground resistance cell along with many of the others that eventually would make their unexplained way to Earth as time went on. :3 And there may be widely-accepted fanon – or even <em>canon<em> – for what "kind" of mech he and Soundwave are, but I've never run across it, so this is the headcanon I operate from in regards to them and their Cassettes.


End file.
